Getting Around: Riders couldn't stand 'Maxi' cars

CTA quietly calls off experiment in removing seats to fit more riders

July 20, 2009|By Jon Hilkevitch Getting around

The Chicago Transit Authority's experiment with cattle cars has been put out to pasture after receiving more moans than moos. ... And there's no time to waste if you haven't displayed your 2009-2010 city vehicle sticker or are waiting for it to arrive in the mail.

Q. "Please find out why the CTA is running Brown Line trains with two 'Maxis' in the front and two in the back. Inquiring minds want to know."

-- Maureen Moran, e-mail

A. A good number of inquiring minds would first probably want to know, "What's a Maxi?"

They are the rail cars with fewer seats that the CTA introduced last September to squeeze more riders onto crowded trains, particularly during rush hours when some commuters are left standing on station platforms.

While seeking an explanation from the transit agency for why Ms. Moran observed four Maxi cars on a single train (CTA policy is two Maxis per train; a crew in the Brown Line rail yard at Kimball simply screwed up), your Getting Around reporter stumbled upon a better story that the CTA has kept quiet until now:

The Maxi pilot project was a failure in the eyes, and especially the posteriors, of riders.

Last year, after then-CTA President Ron Huberman introduced with great fanfare the cars with 12 or 14 fewer seats and announced plans to expand Maxis to other CTA rail lines, CTA officials decided it wasn't worth the cost or the ire of irritated passengers. But the Maxis will not be converted back to regular 39-seat cars, Gaffney said.

Q. "My wife, Nancy, got three tickets in two days ... one for not displaying a new city sticker on July 1, and two for the state license sticker on July 2. We had them both but hadn't affixed them yet. What is going on with the quick whistle? I've never heard of these kinds of tickets being given so soon. The hunger for dollars makes this a more cruel city every day. Do we have to pay these?"

-- Don Borzak, Chicago

And on a related matter:

Q. "I just wanted to pass along to you my experience that the City of Chicago is way behind in sending out vehicle stickers for this year. I sent my check in on June 20, and the city hasn't even cashed the check yet. I haven't seen anything about grace periods. How responsible am I supposed to be if the city can't even be bothered to cash my check in four weeks?"

-- Nancy Burns, Chicago

A. From expired parking meters to vehicle tags, the city is clearly taking advantage of every violation on the books to rake in as much ticket revenue as possible.

To vehicle owners who purchased stickers but got tickets in Chicago for failing to immediately affix them to windshields or license plates, Getting Around's advice is to contest the violations in person through the city's administrative hearing process.

Information about how to appeal is provided on the ticket. Be sure to bring documentation to show the hearing officer that an application was submitted for the new sticker before the June 30 expiration of the old sticker.

As a result of a grace period, the deadline to display the new city sticker was extended to July 15. A $40 late fee ($20 for senior citizens) now applies on top of the $75 cost of a passenger vehicle sticker.

The fine for not displaying a valid city sticker is $120.

Vehicle owners who ordered new city stickers by mail and have not received them should go to the city clerk's office at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St., or call the clerk's office at 312-742-5375.

Temporary or replacement stickers will be provided free of charge to vehicle owners if there is a record that an application was submitted, said Kristine Williams, spokeswoman for City Clerk Miguel del Valle.

"We received over 1.2 million city sticker applications in a six-week period, and there was no problem in processing or mailing the stickers this year," Williams said. "We don't want people to get tickets, but we can't control the mail."

Q. "When will the downtown CTA Washington station on the Red Line reopen? It closed 'temporarily' in 2006 for construction, along with the convenient pedestrian transfer tunnel between the Red Line and the Blue Line."

-- Jerome Wells, Arlington Heights

A. The CTA can't even speculate about a reopening date. The future of the Washington station is linked to the doomed CTA "super station" at Block 37. The CTA has indefinitely halted work on the partially completed Block 37 station, which was supposed to feature a premium express-train service to O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport.

A rail tunnel has been built connecting the Red and Blue Line subway tracks.

But about $213 million was sunk into the subterranean station at Block 37 when the CTA and City Hall pulled the plug on the project last year. Another $100 million is needed to complete the station, officials estimate -- if the idea of airport express service takes flight.

Meanwhile, all the turnstiles, fare equipment, lights and platform finishes were removed from the Washington station to protect them from damage due to the nearby construction at Block 37.

"It doesn't make sense to spend money to reopen a station that could be closed again for construction," Gaffney said, adding that former Washington station passengers can use the Red Line stations at Lake and Monroe.